Another Chance
by ArchivedGhost
Summary: (MAJOR SPOILERS FOR PART 7) Alternate Universe Diego died tragically. Victory was right in his grasps and he wields one of the most powerful stands. However, fate had other choices for him, and he is transported into yet another universe. Let's just hope he can survive this one... (rated T because of some harsh language and violence. No romance but there will be hints of blushing)
1. Chapter 1

Diego woke up on an unfamiliar ground. His eyes were a bit crusty and his vision blurred as the setting came into view. The last thing he remembered was getting his head imploded by his other universal half.

'That damn Lucy Steel! I swear I'll rip her head off once I figure out where I am right now!"

Getting off the ground, he did a quick check on himself to make sure he was really… alive. After everything that had occurred, he wouldn't be surprised if he was in hell. Yet, the environment around him was a dense forest covered in spider webs, nothing like the hell he grew up to believe.

Maybe hell was just a limbo, is what he thought. Instead of fires and torture everywhere, maybe he would just wander without thought for the rest of his life, forever alone and forever desperate to leave. He'd probably even go insane if that was true.

His thoughts were interrupted by a groan from behind him. Turning around, he spotted a kid, not even past their teen years, coming towards him with a sword. The sword had blood all over its edge. Getting ready for anything, he quickly shot his hand down towards his hip. Shuffling around for a few seconds, his hand latched onto the familiar grip of his revolver. He brought it out and aimed it at the approaching kid.

"Hey, kid! I don't know what the hell is going on, but I can assure you that if you take another step, I will blow you to bits! So stop moving! Can you even understand what I'm saying?"

The kid just stood in silence before groaning something out.

"I… can't contr…"

"Eh? You're going to have to speak up if you want me to hear you!"

The kid proceeded to walk forwards despite his advice. Firing off a warning shot, Diego furrowed his brow. He didn't want to kill this kid, but he would do anything to survive if this truly was a second chance of life. The shot seemed to have little effect on the young boy, whom Diego could now tell the gender of. In fact, his eyes still seemed dull before tears began to leak out and onto the side of his face.

"Please… just kill me," he began. "I just want death! For your own good, please! Just-"

He was cut off by a sudden lunge forwards. Diego was no idiot, and he could see that the teen was being forced against his will. Nonetheless, he couldn't drop his guard because of that. He shot his leg, hoping that it would make the kid drop. It did not. All it served to Diego was the kid yelling out in pain before more tears filled his face. He was at least 3 meters away from Diego now.

"That's it! I've had enough of this! ZA WARUDO! TOKI WO TOMARE!"

Time had stopped, and Diego could fully look at the kid without harm now. Glancing around him, Diego noticed what seemed to be webs attached to his back.

'So this is what's controlling him? Interesting. I'll have to find the source as fast as I can before I become a puppet too, but for now…"

His golden stand shredded through the webs with ease. Satisfied, Diego called back his stand and walked away.

"...Time has begun to flow again."

Falling over, the kid yelled out before confusion set into his face. Even though there was great pain in his leg from the shot, he looked around frantically for his savior. However, Diego was nowhere to be seen.

—LINE BREAK—

Alright, one of the first chapters for my first story is done! I really hope you all enjoyed what I had to offer for a quick writing. Please, if you can, provide feedback and support so that I may improve as a writer and improve the story in the future.

(Obvious and obligatory) I do not own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure or Demon Slayer. Respective rights belong to their owners and creators.


	2. Another Chance: Chapter 2

Author's Notes:

Chapter 2 is now live! Again, please leave a review so I may correct any mistakes and improve my writing style, and thank you for reading.

—

It had been over an hour of Diego wandering around in this forest. After saving the kid, he quickly set off to find the one responsible for playing puppeteer. When he reached the origin point though, nobody seemed to be there. Perhaps they had relocated after he fired his gun? He had even more questions about where he was as well. From what he could gather, the people were of some Asian descent and the forest he was in may have been on a mountain. The air was hard to breathe in after all, but it wasn't anything Diego couldn't overcome. And thankfully, maybe due to a lucky fate, Diego was able to read and speak this language. Perhaps he had been sent to this world by Funny Valentine? That wouldn't explain how he could suddenly understand this language though.

A lack of air up here was getting annoying. That was his only thought in the end. Diego wasn't really one to focus on questions with no answer until he knew he was safe, so he let them go for the time being. In his hour trip, he was disturbed some other fighting in the background. Sometimes he was disturbed by the lack of noise too. On top of all, he was just annoyed by having to constantly be on guard.

A shuffle behind him alerted his senses to the max. Turning his head slightly, he peered into the darkness of the forest. His stand was also summoned in case it wasn't just an animal. He ruled out wind considering that he was in the middle of a forest, so it could've just been a wild animal that was curious.

What came out was completely different from anything he could've imagined in his wildest dreams. A considerably pale girl came out of the bushes from behind him. Despite being a little cute, her complexion gave Diego a chill in his spine. He knew she is a threat, but how is to be answered in a moment's notice. He pulled out his gun and reloaded while they both stared at each other in total silence. Taking a closer look at her, she was probably no older than a preteen. She still gave off a dangerous aura despite her initial appearance, and her stark white clothes that matched her skin made it look like she was a cult member or something. Diego lastly took notice of the strange red dots that connected along her head. He aimed his gun at the ground as to warn her that he's armed, but she didn't seem to care. She was still staring her own bullets directly into his eyes.

She laughed softly yet creepily. She began to talk after her little fit of mischief. "What are you planning to do when you shoot that gun at me? Kill me? It's awfully funny how much you underestimate me for my size."

"I wasn't planning to shoot if you tell me what you are," Diego replied, keeping a firm grip on the revolver.

"Perhaps not, but I know you will in a few seconds," she said enigmatically. "You must be stupid or something too. Haven't you heard the stories about demons who live in the Natagumo Mountain forests? Well, you're about to experience being killed by a demon anyways, so I guess it doesn't matter."

The term 'demon' was nothing new to Diego, but seeing one in person shocked him to a degree. Sure, he had heard of the holy corpse and fought stand users, but demons were an entirely new threat. Hell was sure going to be a challenge to survive if demons exist in this place.

Readying his revolver by cocking the hammer back, sweat began to form on his brow. He knew she wouldn't be able to kill him, but damage was possible in the state he was in.

"This is your last warning before I kill you, girl. Go back and I won't harm you."

She glared daggers at him. "You're warning me? You filthy scum of this earth! I'll fucking kill you for saying something as stupid as that!"

She bolted at Diego with a killing instinct in her eyes - like a predator targeting their prey. Diego naturally used his stand's defenses to guard himself with, and the demon was blocked off mere inches away from his face. She tried to pull back from this invisible barrier, but something seemed to grab her neck and pummel her into the ground. She writhed in pain as Diego's stand pinned her from moving. Despite her size, his stand was actually having quite the difficult time holding her down. Her body was thrashing around quite frequently and her strength could possibly match a mid-tier stand.

Despite all her struggling against The World, she managed to slip some words out. "What the hell type of sorcery is this? Release me now you filth!"

Diego crouched down to her level once his stand held absolute control of the enemy. His eyes darted around in case there was another demon nearby who heard a fellow in trouble. Deducing that there wasn't, he answered her pleas of help with cockiness.

"Not so arrogant now, are we? You shouldn't have announced your victory so soon darling, because you knew nothing of your opponents."

She began laughing slightly underneath his stand. This confused Diego a great amount.

"What? What is so funny about this?"

"I could say the same thing right back at you, you foolish human."

A pair of trees came falling over Diego, and the demon knew he wouldn't have time to escape. That is, unless-

"ZA WARUDO! Pause the movement of time!"

'What?! A stand user? No, this is different! I can't mess around anymore, I'll have to kill this wench quickly now!'

4 seconds left. He moved out of the trajectory of the trees.

'The trees, they have webbing on them. Could she have contracted the webbing? The pressure of that alone could caused the the trees to split and fall, but that's essentially suicide. Unless she could heal herself, it was quite a dumb plan. A unique ability though, I must admit.'

3 seconds left. He fired off 4 shots onto the girl. 1 second remained from the shooting.

"Zero seconds left. Time is moving once more."

As time unpaused itself, the demon didn't even have time to react. Firstly, she felt two bullets impact her head. In order to dodge the rest, she moved her head out of the way towards the side. However, it was directly in line with…

"As I said, don't get cocky."

The tree came down, completely obliterating whatever hopes she had of living. Diego began afterwards to walk away smugly, knowing that he was still on the apex. That was, until a crack in the tree formed. Diego didn't even have a split second to look over as the demon came into contact with him, attempting to punch his abdomen in. If his stand weren't so quick with its reflexes, his stomach would've been obliterated at that very moment in time. Speaking of time, The World has stopped it once more. Looking at the demon, her head showed almost no existence of injury other than some dried blood.

5 more seconds left, and Diego couldn't help but be extra cautious. He would have to save his stamina in case she tries something again. His stand threw a punch with its golden fist right into the skull, breaking through into the brain.

"Time continues, and I rule over this match!"

As expected, she flies off into the distance, landing back-first into a tree. Diego checked her injuries with a keen eye this time, seeing her injuries heal within a moment's notice.

She was seething with rage and some boredom towards Diego. "Huh, I thought you'd be stronger after these displays of power, but I'll just have to fight even harder to get more of your attention!"

Diego prepared himself for the inevitable, and the demon used her ability on him. The webs of nearby trees collapsed and brought down the weight of the tree with the help of gravity. Diego, having time to analyze her ability completely, knew that it required him to be trapped amongst a very specific spot. That wasn't going to go well for her at all. His stand came out and split the trees in half. Taking one of the tree stocks, his stand attempted to swing it back at her, only for her to kick it off and aim for Diego. The World dropped the tree in time to deflect another kick aiming towards its master, and Diego shot at her legs. Falling over, she ducked under a stomp from Diego himself and clawed at him. His stand MUDA kicked her arms out of the way and launched her into the ground even further. Within a few seconds, he had successfully restrained his opponent without even putting in half the effort as her. As she growled under her breath, she sent more trees at Diego, hoping a last assault would be necessary to crush him. Least to say, it was not.

Diego didn't even do so much as move when the trees approached ever faster. His stand punched out the trees and held one in its arms, bringing back down onto the wench. She screamed in desperation before The World brought it down, repeatedly punching the fallen stump onto her limp body.

"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUUUUUDDDDAAA!"

Diego backed away slightly, preparing for her to heal herself, but it never came. Her body hasn't moved for a good minute now, and he approached the tree with caution. Using his stand to lift up the trunk, he could see the crushed remains of brain matter and skull pieces. Had he finally killed her? He let the tree fall back down onto the girl, sated by her non-moving corpse. He looked down to see if there was any damage, and was satisfied seeing nothing but a few scrapes on his clothing. A total victory was all he could think of when he looked back at her corpse one last time.

"I did not know you and you did not know me, but I won our little incursion. Hopefully you are the last of my problems, you foul demon."

He walked away into more darkness of the forest, adjusting his hat back into its natural position on top of his head.

Another hour passed by without much consideration. He found the corrupted corpse of another demon, but didn't care too much for it. He needed to keep focusing on his own survival after all. The only thing that intrigued him was how similar this one's clothes were to the one he fought. Perhaps they may have been in the same family or species. Now taking that into consideration, it would make a lot of sense considering how much webbing he found in the forest. After the fight, the atmosphere was almost too peaceful. Diego was exhausted and had just wished someone else he could trust was there with him. Maybe he shouldn't have left the other human he found behind, but he couldn't be carrying dead weight either. He found others wearing the same uniform as him, but they were all dead. Their bodies were done dirty and were hung high up in the thicker branches of the trees. His journey to find an escape continued until a shuffling behind him alarmed his ears.

"Hey, you! Turn around! We're armed, so don't try anything suspicious!

Spinning around with a loaded gun, Diego pointed it at whoever yelled at him. It was two more of those uniform-wearing maniacs, except these ones wore masks that covered most of their heads. Before he could even speak, they continued.

"You're a human, right? You're gonna have to come with us then. We're a rescue team, and we mean you no harm."

Diego kept his gun pointed at them, but he also allowed them to come closer. He read their faces, and they seemed to be telling the truth. They stopped when they were close enough and pulled down their masks, revealing themselves as human. Diego dropped his gun a bit by the sight of this and they motioned him to follow them, which he did reluctantly. He was led back to a camp with some bodies. They included both the deceased and poisoned, and even some baby sized creatures as well. They had "FINISHED TREATMENT" over their bandaged bodies, so he assumed they were still alive. One stump of a human with blonde hair poking through the bandages looked over at him with a subtle curiosity. Diego was then told that he would be brought in for questioning, and that he was allowed to roam around for a bit in the site while they finished collecting everyone they could find. Finally, Diego gave into his senses and passed out next to the blonde haired kid. His mind argued against this, but the lack of air wore him out and wandering around for two hours (with a fight in between said wandering) just wanted to make him do nothing but sleep…


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes:

Hey guys, I feel like I owe an apology this chapter. I tried to experiment with some new writing styles but I can't help to feel like I just made the story seem a little more rushed. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy, and thank you for all the positive support so far!

PS: Edited chapter 2's grammatical errors by the ways, but nothing too serious.

A noticeable thump on the ground was emitted just now. A sizable amount of people stood behind what had been placed down. One of those figures first spoke up to that thing.

"Hey… wake up you!"

"Stop it, we don't even know who he is!"

"I don't care! He's still under high suspicion, even if he isn't a demon."

Diego's eyes cracked open slightly, feeling the sun's warmth cast into the eyelids. He could hear voices. Was he moved without noticing? He could still feel his belongings on him, so at least that was nice. It would be nicer if they hadn't tied him up though. Given that he wasn't trying to be extra cautious with this extra chance of life, he would've summoned his stand and wiped out half of these fools by now.

Fully opening his eyelids, he was met by a much more bizarre sight than whatever he thought possible. Multicolored figures stood above him, all with different faces of emotion. Some looked worried, some looked at the ready as if he were about to do something, and one looked like he couldn't care at all. However, that wasn't the first thing he cared about when he began to look around more clearly. The first thing he actually noticed was the blood on the ground in some places around him. Has someone been here before him? Looking behind him, he saw a figure looking over his body. Well, rather, casting a shadow rather than looking. He was accompanied by a pair of young twins.

"And who do we have here?" the blind man asked kindly.

One of the twins replied to his question.

"We have a mysterious man, who appears to be foreign. Unlike everyone else that night, who was either badly injured or dead, this one is perfectly fine. One of the survivors noted that they were saved by this man, and that he appeared from nowhere right before his eyes."

The last part of the comment raised a few eyes, but Diego was especially intrigued by this. Appeared out of nowhere? Perhaps D4C really did do this.

His thoughts wandered off while the multicolored group discussed who he was. Why don't they just ask him instead of theorizing like a bunch of morons?

"Who are you?" asked the blind man.

Oh, well, that answers that.

"Why should I tell you? You all have been pretty rude hosts so far."

One of the guys in the group, with white hair and a crazy looking face, demanded that he respected them. The blind man before them raised his hand to quiet him down.

"I think it would help in your trial. You are before the Hashira, the highest ranking demon slayers in these parts. Your trial is what you are doing here and what your plans are. We received that you also had an interesting ability from our one and only source."

Diego took everything in. Demon slayers? Is this truly just hell that has been overrun by surviving humans? Maybe that's why this place looks so nice. Yet again, why are they all speaking that weird foreign language?

"If you agree to answer some of my questions, I'll answer yours to the best of my ability. Just don't expect me to dump my life story for a bunch of delinquents like you guys. Didn't even have the courtesy of waking me up nicely."

His last few lines seemed to have angered some of the 'Hashira', but they remained silent nonetheless. The blind man replied to Diego's requests.

"Of course, and where are my manners? My name is Kagaya Ubuyashiki. I am the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps."

Diego played around with the man's name on his tongue. He began a reply with his first name (before being met with disdainful looks by the Hashira), but quickly followed it up with his last name. He forgot that you address higher ups by their last names, even if this man was far weaker and prettier than the one and only Diego.

"My name is Diego Brando. I hail from Britain, but participated in a horse racing event in the Americas. I…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say. "I don't know how I got here. It was all a… flash and before I knew it, I was transported to the forest. That may be how I met one of your members."

The Hashira and Ubuyashiki took this information in for a moment, and allowed Diego to continue.

"I have some questions myself though. Demon slayers? Is this hell or something?"

Silence was all Diego received for a few moments. Then, out of nowhere, some of the Hashira began to laugh out loud. Even Ubuyashiki got a chuckle out of his first question.

"What? What's so funny?!"

"Nothing, nothing! Are you sure you didn't hit your head on something? That's a joke, right?" replied one of the Hashira. He seemed to be something related to fire based on the shape of his blade's hilt.

Diego let a breath escape his mouth. At least he knew this wasn't hell or purgatory or anything else like that.

"I suppose you are possibly just an average civilian after all. Well, at least, not a demon slayer," Ubuyashiki started. "Yes, demons exist, but they aren't from hell or something like that. They are disease ridden humans who were transformed by another demon's blood. Think of it almost as those old western story vampires."

Diego nodded his head to the information. Most of the Hashira's laughs had died down for him to ask a second question.

"You asked what my plans were, but I don't exactly have any. I'm lost and I'm not sure I am able to travel back to my homeland currently."

He cut off for a split second to think of the possibility. The possibility that he could return home to fully avenge his mother, but that probably wasn't possible. He would have to just find a place to stay here until the slight chance of opportunity came.

He continues on after a few seconds of internal monologue. "If you give me money, I'll help you with demon slaying as much as I can, but I'm guessing you would want a show of strength or something like that, correct?"

The Hashira didn't laugh at this. They should've, but they noticed how serious Diego was. Instead of Ubuyashiki answering the question, Shinobu did for him.

"Demon slaying isn't officially recognized by the government of this country. While we don't get paid, things like shelter and food are provided by the Wisteria family for compensation."

Diego was content to hear that. He didn't really need money anyways if those were provided to him.

"However, one does not just simply become a demon slayer. You need to put in patience, time, and effort. Most of us are the number one in our element because we spend our entire lives training. I'm sure a simple civilian like you can understand."

Diego's eyes twitched at that. A simple civilian, him? What kind of person did they take him for?

"Now hold on, Shinobu."

Ubuyashiki didn't look down at him, but he was clearly defending Diego.

"We heard you had a power based on the source we had. And we've never tried a gun wielding demon slayer. Perhaps… Shinobu?"

"Yes sensei?"

"Could you test and take care of Diego for the time being? As we've heard, he must've been transported here by someone… possibly a demon. You'll get more information from him and we can continue on with our next trial."

Two of the Kakushi returned and aided Diego up. They took off his restraints as well. Shinobu agreed politely and Ubuyashiki looked back at Diego. Despite his sway of direction, one of his little twin girls spoke for him instead.

"As you've heard, our time here is up and we got the information we needed. You will stay at Shinobu's residence until we learn more about you. For now, you are dismissed to go with the Kakushi, the ones who are next to you, to head down to the Butterfly Estate. Safe travels."

Diego politefully bowed to Ubuyashiki (something he picked up from the rest of the Hashira) and left with the Kakushi. With his questions answered, he was much more at peace than before. Well, at least he's sure that he isn't in some form of afterlife anymore…

Following the Kakushi's guidance, Diego waved his goodbyes to the Hashira. Ubuyashiki began to speculate a bit before the next trial started when he was out of sight. Just who was Diego? He's heard of demons using teleportation powers, but never someone as random as Diego and most definitely not from America. It was most interesting to him, but he and the demon slayers would just have to wait and see what his true colors show. One thing is for certain though. He radiates respect and power, and Ubuyashiki could see that even if that doesn't mean literally.


	4. Chapter 4

When Diego came to this world, he was met with a harsh beginning. Not a day later and he felt like he was being treated as a house guest. Then again, he didn't really do anything necessarily evil that would warrant punishment.

Diego had been led off by the Kakushi and was brought to a very beautiful building. It was annoying how many bugs flew around the place though. Once they were positioned in front of the residence, he could hear yelling from inside, which didn't do much to calm his nerves about this place. Up close to the building, he noticed a pretty female demon slayer with dark hair and purple eyes. She just stood there as the Kakushi explained the situation, staring directly at them and yet… not at the same time. A second female came out, sweating like she had been running around all day, and greeted them. Now, while Diego was an adult, he wasn't used to being so tall compared to fellow humans. Maybe this is what most Americans met when they said Asians were short? Whatever the case may be, he practically towered over this girl. She stood about to his chest at best, but that was with her straightening up. Was she blushing? Maybe, he did often have an appeal over women after all. Thank god he didn't go off for the younger types though. She introduced herself as Kanzaki Aoi, and the silent girl as Kanao Tsuyuri. Diego, in return, introduced himself. He bowed slightly, and was proceeded to be let in by them.

Crossing room to room, he was brought to a curious three. One of which was the other blonde he met from the tree, another was a redhead, and the last was a boar mask. Oh wait, the last one was a person. The first two he mentioned looked at him while the pig didn't seem to be moving at all. Was he dead?

The blonde began to cry out at Diego. "You're the guy who sat next to me on that tree! Please help me out of here, they're torturing u-"

The yellow haired yakuza was whipped across the head by Kanzaki, who seemed to have enough of him. Diego gave a tiny look of sympathy at him and looked at the red haired boy. He waved and introduced himself as Tanjiro Kamado and the yellow one as Zenitsu Agatsuma, but they go by Tanjiro and Zenitsu. He also mentioned the pig was a guy named Inosuke, but Diego didn't quite catch the rest. Regardless, Tanjiro was kind of charming to Diego, even if this was just an introduction. Diego waved back and also introduced himself along with why he was staying here. He could already assume that these people were here for treatment, but they only confirmed his suspicions by relaying it back at him after his introduction. The rest was kind of awkward, as Zenitsu wouldn't stop shouting at the children of the establishment about the medication. Diego just kind of sat there before a very angry Kanzaki led him out into the room next door. She mentioned that his training would be tested tomorrow at the doorway, but he was more focused on the room itself. It was quite small, but the bed and table across from his position were quite nice. He hadn't cleaned his gun in a long time, so maybe he could tonight on the table. Over all, a very simple and small room. He couldn't be more pleased about it though.

As Kanzaki continued to inform him of eating hours and some check ups on his health, he entered the room and felt around. The walls were thin and the doors were meant to slide rather than push/pull open. He didn't mind this, but he wished there was just a tiny bit more privacy. Either that or he just didn't want to hear Zenitsu scream all night long. Taking in some fresh air by opening a nearby window, he heard a voice break in through the air.

"Hello."

Diego hadn't even noticed Shinobu entering the room. Kanzaki, who had asked Diego to simply call her Miss Aoi, was also taken back by her sudden appearance. Still, she left the room for Shinobu to talk to him as well.

"I assume you have already been informed about your stay, but I would like to formally introduce myself. My name is Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Pillar. Before we get started with training tomorrow, may I be informed of the 'power' that you possess? It would make things much easier, you see."

Diego pondered on what to tell her and what not to tell her. At least she could know about the basic facts of his stand, but not the time stop or it being a seperate being from his own self.

"I am able to detect and move at a very high point of speed. I'm not sure about how fast, but it's enough to catch bullets flying at me from very short distances."

Shinobu seemed to be intrigued by this information.

"I am also able to pick up and destroy very dense objects as well. I would say it's easy for me to destroy entire buildings like this one within minutes, but you can see for yourself tomorrow."

Shinobu just sat there with a smile. Unbeknownst to Diego, she wasn't believing anything of what he just said. She was only going along with it so that there wouldn't be any arguments from him. After his introduction of power, Shinobu stood up and addressed him.

"Well, as one of the highest ranking demon slayers, I am actually very physically weak. Power isn't everything, and I seem to be on the more… intellectual side of things. Therefore I have researched poisons to destroy demons from the inside out. You may have seen one of my victims, based on the Kakushi's remarks of where they found you. So I must remind you that power isn't everything. It's intellect, abilities, and breathing."

Diego sat back for a second. Maybe he was too upfront with his abilities? He didn't know, and Shinobu was very hard to read as well. Wait, breathing?

"You mentioned something about breathing?"

Shinobu began to chuckle a little before continuing. "Yes, breathing is a slayer's form of increasing their reflexes and strength, but it can also produce amazing abilities. An associate of mine is able to have abilities related to water attacks, another is able to do flame, and so on."

Diego took that as a universal stand system, but he would have to see it in action to fully understand it. So he just had to breathe certain patterns in order to increase his reflexes? That could pair up great with his sta-

"Of course, you would only use these abilities with a Nichirin Blade, a special blade all demon slayers use that is able to harness the sun's rays. That is, after all, how you are able to kill demons. Other than crushing their heads, it's the most effective as well. We could try producing special bullets to try and blow out a demon's brains however! Going on with that, I would presume that you have been unconsciously doing breathing forms if what you say is true. Sometimes it just comes naturally to people!"

Diego deflated after hearing that news. He wasn't of any interest in learning the blade, and his stand could provide more than enough if he just needed to crush the head of a demon. Shinobu said she had something to do and left him to be after that, and Diego was left to his own devices.

First order of business was to clean his clothes and revolver. Most of the outfits there didn't fit him, so he had to stretch them out a bit. All this did to serve him was leaving his abdomen and lower arms exposed, along with his lower legs as well. He brought the dirty clothes down to (what seemed to be) a laundry mat and let one of the young girls take it. Were the only workers here girls? That was going to be awkward with someone like him around.

Back in his room in the later hours of evening, Diego was checking out his piece. It was a simple 1890 Colt revolver with some engravings on the hilt, and it served him well for the times he used it. Thinking about it now, how were they going to design bullets here? They had never made guns before from his knowledge, and none of them here seemed to be smiths. Maybe they got them from someone else? He pondered this for a little while before finishing the revolver's cleaning. Looking over a little bit, he could spot the cold remains of dinner that sat on the edge of his desk. For what was basically a medical institution, the food was actually pretty good. Maybe one of the young girls helped cook the food.

After the cleaning process was done, he reassembled his gun into its original form. Stashing it away next to the bed, he thought that he might as well do some sightseeing before the night had truly ended. From the temple designs, he knew he was Far East He just had to deduce which country from the East at a later point in his stay here. Definitely not his world though, or he would've encountered a stand user by now.

Diego had a pause in thought thinking about stand users all of the sudden. Perhaps they do exist in this world as well, and he just hasn't encountered one yet. As his thoughts trailed off, he was oblivious to a watchful Shinobu on the rooftop. She looked over his body with curiosity in her eyes. She questioned herself a lot about who Diego was, so she may as well see what type of person he is when no one's around. To her surprise however, Diego was just sight-seeing the place, taking in the atmosphere before heading off into the sleeping quarters. Disappointed would be a good word to describe how Shinobu felt about what just happened, but she wasn't about to be the type who expresses it physically. She went back to her own duties as Diego went back through the estate and into his room. Sitting down on the bed, he tucked in for a night's rest and mentally prepared for tomorrow's show.

—

Author's Notes:

Well, another chapter done and more to come. I know things may be a bit slow at first, but I am preparing to write a demon hunting arc for Diego soon that will test his limits. As always, thank you for reading and please leave criticisms if you wish!


	5. Chapter 5

Diego had an uneasy night of sleep. He dreamt of himself marrying some old hag and gaining a stand that could turn himself into a dinosaur. Very peculiar if he had to say so himself.

At the crack of dawn, he woke up and prepared for the day. One of the young girls was to get him for breakfast soon, so he redressed into some day clothes (that were still too small for him). Putting on a simple shirt and some pants, he slid open the door to reveal an empty hallway. Looking over to the left, he could hear his neighbors chatting next door. He thought he might as well greet them while he's at it.

Opening their door, he was met by a… bizarre sight. It seemed like Tanjiro was exhausted of all energy and Inosuke was almost a transparent ghost. Well, actually, that was pretty normal to Diego. On the other hand, Zenitsu looked like he was preparing for Armageddon to happen in a few hours. They didn't notice Diego until he called them out, and even then it seemed like Tanjiro and Inosuke were too tired to care.

"Oh, hey you. Sorry if we woke you up, but I'm really worried about today," said Zenitsu, sniffling a little bit through his lines.

"You're fine. What's happening that is making you act like a pansy anyways?"

Zenitsu looked a little chilled before continuing on. "I have to go through 'rehabilitation training' in a couple of weeks! If these two are in a state like this, then what the hell is going to happen to me?!"

He pointed at the two husks on beds. Diego smirked a little, finding humor in this predicament of Zenitsu's.

After sniffling for a bit, Zenitsu mustered the will to ask Diego a question. "W-w-what are you doing t-today?"

"I'm going to show Miss Aoi and Miss Shinobu my abilities, and that's about it. Nothing else is really planned until my weapon becomes compatible with demon slaying," replied Diego.

"What's your weapon? Is it not a Nichirin Blade?"

"No, I wield a gun. I slayed my first demon yesterday."

The other two looked at him with a doubtful gleam in their eyes. Even Zenitsu looked at him like he was a mad man.

"You."

"Yes?"

"You used that tiny little thing to kill a demon? Are you kidding me! Why have we been using our blades this entire time?!"

Zenitsu continued on yelling at Diego until an angry Aoi came in and slapped him across the head. She looked at Diego.

"Are you ready for today's event? I'm sure you won't disappoint us compared to this nincompoop."

Zenitsu looked at her with his own spark of anger glistening in his eyes. They continued to argue for a bit before it left off with Aoi taking Diego out of the room quickly for breakfast.

Diego was brought to a table that had rice and porridge on it, the smells greeting Diego's stomach kindly. He sat down and watched as the table filled with the residents of the Estate, including Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke. A man with a far taller height than the rest of them came in, just a hair taller than Diego himself. He wasn't intimidated though, as harsh as his face may show. 3 young girls stood by as Aoi and Tsuyuri filled the rest of the empty seats. All of them (excluding the taller guy and Diego) thanked the gods for their meals and began eating. Thanking their gods for a meal was normal to Diego, but so I'm synchronized and without prayer was what threw him off. He got some weird looks but he ate without concern from them. The food was, once again, made to his liking and he ate it within a few minutes afterwards.

Aoi looked at the trio and Diego after they all finished. The young girls came in and picked up the dirty dishes as she imported the news onto them.

"Zenitsu, Tanjiro, and Inosuke. You three will be staying here for recovery and training. However," she pointed at Diego. "You will be showing us what you have today. Again, I hope you aren't bluffing about your abilities. Shinobu probably thinks you are, so blow her out of the park. Put on a show!"

She happily took him out of the room once the 3 helpers were done, and he waved his partings to the three other slayers. He was brought into an open room with a table that had cups on it, mattresses on the side, and rope climbing sections. He looked over and saw Shinobu smiling towards him.

"Hello. I see you made it here a little early. Shall we begin now with your tests?"

Diego nodded, answering her question with a grin on his face. Aoi stood by with Tsuyuri as judges for Diego and extra defense if anything went wrong.

"I will warn you that you should not hold back when committing to this first test of strength. I want you to try and physically move me across the-"

"-room."

In the blink of an eye, she had been moved from one point of the room to the other. Diego remained in the center of the room with an innocent look on his face. It took a moment before a cold sweat started to form visibly over her face, Aoi and Tsuyuri just as equally shocked.

"Impressed? Everyone has always been impressed with how _fast _I move."

"What? That's impossible! I was just-"

"-there."

Again, she had been moved back into her original spot. She couldn't see it, but she knew Diego had power. Not just any power, a power that could rule the world if he wanted to use it to its fullest capabilities.

Terrified. That would be a pretty good word to describe how she felt. She hasn't felt this emotionally strong since the day her sister left this world. She couldn't see nor detect when he was going to move, but she had to prepare for it again. She was probably just not focusing hard enough.

She drew in a deep breath and released it, putting a firm grip on her wooden sword. "I'm going to warn you that I will stop holding back now. It seems that I may have underestimated you, so let's move into the final test already. We will have a match against each other, and I can determine your ability to slay demons once that is over. We begin… now!"

She charged at Diego, jumping in the air as if she were flying. Slowly but surely, she fell towards him with her sword in a stabbing motion, but he dodged with ease. Or rather, it seems like he was dragged away by some unknown force. Shinobu saw this and prematurely took this as some type of wind breathing. She once again pulled off multiple stabbing forms, each being deflected by this opposing force of air. The moment an opening appeared on Shinobu, Diego used The World to jab into her stomach, hard enough to hurt but not enough to do any permanent damage. He has, after all, doughnutted people in his last life with The World.

She coughed a few times before backing up. She didn't even notice she was forgetting to breathe in this moment, and instead was too focused on figuring out Diego's abilities. Instead of her charging at him this time, it was the vice versa, and he tried to jump at her. However, she was able to land a blow to his chest, sending him back a little. Before Diego knew it, she was breathing once a small room of air was available. Naturally, if it were a real fight, the blow she landed on him wouldn't have had enough time to inject the poison into his body. However, Diego would've been fine anyways due to the fact that it was only meant for demons. She would just have to go faster and have a longer stab form in the next hit she lands on him.

'His form is more or less very barbaric, but he has some type of power that's allowing him to completely outrank me. I'll just have to keep going - I need to push his limits for this test, not mine!"

Shinobu went into a defense position, using total concentration breathing. Her muscles and reflexes had increased because of this, and she was able to see precisely how sloppy Diego's form was. He had no guard nor offense, and he could very easily be knocked over if his enemy wanted to do so. Despite these shortcomings, it was Shinobu's endurance and reflexes that are being tested.

She launched herself at Diego with high speeds, slashing him with her blade in multiple areas. However, each part she slashed seemed to be protected by some kind of aura. She couldn't see it, but a golden fist was coming straight at her head. She could detect something was coming at her, but the fact that she couldn't see nor hear it meant it was impossible for her to deflect it. In a moment's notice, Shinobu decided to draw the match to a close. He was too fast for her, and she would have to forfeit the test.

Unknowingly dodging the fist by going out of range, she jumped backwards and sheathed her sword.

"A-alright, it's clear I underestimated you too much. I forfeit."

Aoi threw her body forwards from shock and Tsuyuri's mouth left itself agape for a short second. Diego lended a hand to Shinobu, who took it rather begrudgingly. She didn't show it, but she was scared. It wasn't just fear that plagued her mind, it was also mixed with anger. Anger that reminded her of being totally helpless and unable to control the situation, just as it was with her being unable to save her sister. Shinobu needed to leave before she became too irrational like her younger self.

She bowed slightly, told Diego that she would evaluate his performance, and walked off into the estate with Tsuyuri following suit. That just left Diego and Aoi to stand in silence before confusion on what to do settled in rather harshly. The tests weren't supposed to conclude that quickly, and Aoi was more or less terrified of Diego. No one who had entered the Butterfly Estate has beaten Lady Shinobu herself, and it certainly would have never been as fast as Diego did. Yet he did it anyways, changing everyone's view on him from average civilian to a top priority. Aoi shuffled out of the room awkwardly after a few more moments of silence, and Diego left to go to his own room once the air had grown too cold. Had he gone too far with the test? He wasn't even really trying during the test other than having to strain himself with the time stop a little too much. Even after that thought, it was nothing Diego was uncomfortable with.

He walked down the empty hallways and caught little glimpses of chitter chatter here and there. Most of it was about the fight, and some was about whether Diego should be allowed to stay or not. Nonetheless, Diego would have to meet back up with Shinobu to see what the scoop was. He really needs to talk with her about demon slaying bullets too.

He brushed the walls with his hand as he walked down them, humming a small tune that his mother sang to him when he was a child. Those were the good memories that he reserved privately, but with them came the hate. The hatred and vengeance he swore to bring unto his old world's petty population. But now that dream was impossible, and he was left with no purpose other than to slay demons. Had his life really changed because of one simple girl? Where he would normally feel anger, the emotion was instead replaced by hope. Hope that he could overcome his past sins, one by one. Hope for a better him instead of what he tried to live his old life as.

No. This was wrong. This wasn't him; it seemed a lot more like some type of sad excuse for him trying to not be angry at the people he's met so far. And maybe it was some type of denial stage he was in, a denial that he was forever gone from both his old and alternate universes. That damn Lucy Steel needs to pay for sending him through hell and back.

"Yoo-hoo!"

Lady Shinobu appeared beside him. He didn't even notice that he was already back in his room. More precisely, on his bed with a 1000-yard stare.

She was incredibly close as well! His heart jumped a beat after a few seconds of recognition.

"H-hello. I'm sorry, I must have spaced out."

"It's quite alright," she replied, looking downwards a short bit. Some silence reigned over them along with the additional awkwardness of Diego kicking Shinobu's ass. "I wanted to congratulate you for completing the tests earlier. I needed a few moments of recovery, and I also told my crow to send a message to Ubuyashiki."

Diego nodded at her explanations, and waited for her to continue.

"I've never been so outmatched like that before since I've become a Hashira. Mind telling me your secret?"

Diego looked a little uncomfortable (if not just annoyed) to her question.

"Kidding, kidding! While your results are being evaluated, we can discuss about your weapons now."

"I've been wondering when we would talk about them. Well, in case I ever need an emergency close quarters weapon, I have an old hunting knife on me."

"May I see it?"

He reached over to the table beside the bed, picking up the blade and handing it back over to Shinobu. She examined it, clearly not satisfied with how heavy and clunky it felt in her hands.

"The revolver may not be possible, since we don't have any gunsmiths, not to mention that it's impractical. It is also illegal here, so you'll have to battle with a blade regardless. Perhaps we can make a short blade for you?"

Diego agreed to this decision, clearly averting his gaze.

'Called it. They don't have the stuff to make bullets for my revolver. I guess I'll have to save ammunition carefully now.'

She handed back the blade to him, dusting off some of the rubble left on her from the battle. She bowed and tired to leave the room if it weren't for Diego calling out her name.

She turned around to see what he had to say. "You seem busy, but I'd like to talk with you about something important."

Shinobu's eyebrows lifted a little, but she responded to him anyway. "What would you like to know? I'm happy to assist with anything!"

"Where am I and what year is it? From where I came from, it was 1890 in America."

Shinobu's eyes hardened at the new information he dumped on her. Should she tell him the truth? Absolutely, lying wasn't going to help anything in trying to get Diego to stay on their side. They could really use his power for upcoming missions.

"It's… 1915 in Japan. I'm guessing some really powerful demon sent you here, huh?"

Diego shot up from the bed in response to this outlandish claim from Shinobu.

"What year is it?!"

"Hah hah… as I said… 1915."

—

Author's Notes:

Niceu niceu! Thank you for all the support so far! I know this chapter took a little while to publish, but it's gone through a couple of rewrites on whether I wanted to completely balance Diego or make him completely broken. I settled in between where he is still as cocky (but calculated) as ever.


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